Digital TV Options for Renters

Rental properties often lack an antenna for Digital TV or don’t have TV points in all the rooms tenants need them in. Here’s a guide to the options for renters who find their rental property is missing the Digital TV services they’d like.

Sometimes tenants find that the rental agency or landlord won’t install an antenna or antenna points for Digital TV. There are some options available to still get the television service you want though.

Best Option: Get the Landlord to Fix it

If a rental property has an antenna and TV points when you move in, it’s usually the obligation of the landlord to maintain these in good working order. However if there is no antenna, the landlord doesn’t have to install one. See the Tenant’s Digital TV Rights article for more information.

Indoor Antennas

If you can’t have a connection to an outdoor rooftop TV antenna you can try a indoor antenna. These are often referred to as “rabbit ears” antennas. They are only really an option in areas with a good strong Digital TV signal quality.

Here are some situations where indoor antennas are likely to work well:

Can see the TV towers

No hills between location and the TV towers

Less than 20km from TV towers

I recommend amplified indoor antennas. These have an RF signal amplifier attached to the antenna which boosts the power of the received signal. They will have a plug pack power attachment to supply power to the amplifier and don’t work without being plugged into power.

You may need to experiment to find the best location for your indoor antenna. Higher and near a window facing the direction of the TV towers will usually be best.

You can buy indoor antenna at most department stores, like Kmart or Target, or you can find them on eBay by searching for “indoor amplified antenna”.

Catch Up TV and Live Streaming

Watching ABC News 24 Live on an iPhone

You can now get live and recorded TV programs via the internet using free streaming apps from Freeview and the various TV networks. You’ll need a good internet connection with plenty of data allowance if you plan to use these apps. It’s not something I’d recommend if you have access to an antenna, but for renters in houses or units without an antenna it’s a good alternative option.

Apple TV, iPhone, IPad

You can now get apps for most TV channels in Australia on the 4th Generation Apple TV. The ABC, SBS, 7 network, 9 network and 10 networks all have catchup TV apps available for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. These allow you to watch TV shows that have aired in the past weeks or months, via catchup TV. You can also watch live TV. Some, like ABC iView, will stream to a TV via Airplay or Google Chromecast.

The following apps provide live TV or catch up TV on Apple devices:

Freeview FV – Access live streams and catch up from all the commercial networks

Foxtel Play

Foxtel Play is Foxtel pay TV via the internet instead of the traditional satellite or cable connection. You’ll need a good high speed internet connection with plenty of data allowance if you plan to use it a lot.

Foxtel Play offers a wide variety of new TV shows and live sports. It differs from the traditional Foxtel service in that it doesn’t require any Foxtel hardware. See the Foxtel Play How It Works page for more information on device compatibility.

You also get Foxtel Go app access to some live sports, movies and TV shows on phones and tablets.

Other Streaming Services

Various Media Devices which can access catchup and streaming services

Other streaming TV services are available, such as Stan and Netflix. These don’t offer live sports, but do offer a wide range of original and older TV shows and movies. See our main article on streaming services for more information.

Streaming TV services typically offer mobile and tablet apps and are accessible on multiple different types of smart TVs and media devices.